NEVADA CITY, California (AP) – The threat of catastrophic forest fires has prompted a city in California to launch a "Goats Fund Me" campaign to bring herds of goats to the country of the city to help remove them of the brush.

Nevada City in the Sierra Nevada started the online crowdsourcing campaign last month with the goal to raise $ 30,000 for the project.

The website of the campaign explains that because it takes time to get a subsidy, the city now needs money to hire goat farmers because they are only available this winter.

The ranchers have rented their herds to other communities in California for the rest of the year and are expanding their herds to meet the demand, municipal officials said.

"Why not do something – and as soon as we can?" Deputy Mayor Reinette Senum told the Los Angeles Times. "If we are not proactive, if we do not help ourselves, nobody else will."

The community at the foot of the mountain is about 76 km southeast of paradise, which was decimated in November by a forest fire that killed 86 people and destroyed about 14,000 homes.

FILE – On August 16, 2005, a file photo, almost 300 goats from a ranch in the south of Oregon are brought upstairs to consume as much brush in Sycamore Canyon Park in the hills above Claremont, California. The threat of catastrophic forest fires has driven a city in Northern California to launch a "Goat Fund Me" campaign to bring herds of goats to the city's grounds to help purify the brush. Nevada City in the Sierra Nevada started the online crowdsourcing campaign last December, 2018, with the goal of getting $ 30,000 for the project. (AP Photo / Reed Saxon, File)

City officials said that booking a herd would cost between $ 500 and $ 1,500 per acre. About 200 goats can daily nibble on an acre of overgrown brush.

According to City Manager Catrina Olson, along with residents attending board meetings to discuss the project, she is enthusiastic about the approaching work, an idea "that catches on because there is so much fire danger in our state."

"It is an interesting way to run a city campaign," says Brad Fowler, a local rancher who rents goats along with the city. "I love how people can choose to spend their money."

FILE – In this Aug. 2005, photo of a file, a goat from a ranch in the south of Oregon chews down low-hanging foliage in Sycamore Canyon Park in the hills above Claremont, California. The threat of catastrophic forest fires has driven a city in Northern California to launch a "Goat Fund Me" campaign to bring herds of goats to the city's grounds to remove brushstrokes. Nevada City in the Sierra Nevada started the online crowdsourcing campaign in December 2018, with the goal of raising $ 30,000 for the project. (AP Photo / Reed Saxon, File)